The Lesson
by Christina Hilt
Summary: Trip offers Malcolm some advice about his love life.
1. Advice from a Commanding Officer

**Disclaimer: **The characters used in this story do not belong to me - only the story is my own.

**Warning: **This story portrays a male / male relationship. If this will offend you, please don't read any further.

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**The Lesson**

"Reckon we're spendin' way too much time together."

Malcolm laughed. The words seemed to have become a familiar refrain between the two of them, and their habit of saying the same thing at the same time, a standing joke.

"It's a sorry state when we both choose to spend our free time in the Launch Bay," he replied, only half joking.

"Dedication to duty," said Tucker, with his customary drawl. "Very commendable, Lieutenant!"

"Why thank you, Commander."

The engineer peered in concentration into the open panel inside the shuttlecraft, and gave a puzzled click of his tongue. "Hand me that connector."

Malcolm did so, and moved closer, to look for himself over Tucker's shoulder. "Have you found the problem?"

"Not yet." He traced the line of connections on the panel with his finger. "I thought you had a date, tonight, anyhow?"

"Cancelled. These things just don't seem to work out for me, lately."

"Ah know the feelin'." Trip made an adjustment in the circuitry. "Try it now."

Reaching to the controls, the Tactical Officer pressed several buttons, causing a panel on the instrument readout to flicker, then die. Both sighed.

"Maybe it's for the best," Malcolm muttered, his thoughts back on the not-to-be date. "I'm not sure I could stand another disaster like the date with Ensign Newman."

"Why, what happen'd?"

Malcolm cringed at the memory. "Well … we had dinner and went back to my quarters to listen to some music," he explained. "I thought I was in with a chance."

"And?"

"She wanted to dance."

Trip turned his head in surprise. "Little cramped for that, isn' it?"

Reed sighed. "Worse than that - I can't dance."

"So what happen'd?"

"It was terrible. First I trod on her feet, then I accidentally steered her into the corner of the desk. Needless to say, the rest did not go well."

Trip grinned. "No kiddin'."

"I think I should just give up on dating."

"Dancin's not so hard. You jus' need some pointers." Seeing Malcolm's despondent face, he grinned. "We need a break from this, anyhow."

Without waiting for an answer, Tucker turned and climbed out of the shuttlecraft, and was standing expectantly outside. Reluctantly, Malcolm followed.

"You're not suggesting …. I can't dance with you, Commander."

"'Course you can," the other replied with a grin. "Y'afraid someone'll see ya?" With exaggerated impatience, he crossed to the launch bay door and typed in the code to lock it. "There, ya see? Now come on."

Hesitantly, Reed stepped towards him, but left Tucker to make the final move and take his hand in the position for dancing. With the engineer assuming the woman's position, Malcolm felt his hand guided to the other's waist, and a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm no good at this, you know," he said, embarrassed.

"Will you jus' shut up and follow my feet?"

It was easier than Malcolm had expected, despite his discomfort at dancing with Trip. Even that, however, grew easier as the strangeness of it faded. Firmly keeping a picture of Ensign Newman in his mind, he allowed himself to relax a little, and found himself to be following his teacher's instructions quite well. As the imaginary music progressed, his arm slipped further about the waist he held, and the distance between them narrowed until their bodies pressed lightly together.

With a sudden realization of who he was holding, Malcolm's eyes, which had begun to close, snapped wide open. The dancing stopped, but they did not release each other, standing and staring in a few moments of silence.

"Ya see?" said Tucker, finally. "Who could resist a man who can dance?"

Not quite sure why he was doing it, or how he found the courage, Malcolm leaned forward to invite a kiss. This could be a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life, but somehow, it was a risk he had to take.

In an infinitely gentle touch, Tucker's lips met his own, and Malcolm knew, for the first time in his life, that he had found where he belonged. 

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_**Author's Notes: **Last updated 2003-02-23_

_Sorry - I know I should be working on The Ways of the Worlds on my msn site, but I couldn't resist this. They're just so cute together!_


	2. What Now?

**The Lesson - Chapter 2 - What Now?**

The kiss was short and gentle, and Malcolm hardly dared breathe as their lips touched. They parted slightly - just enough to look into each other's faces in amazement. It seemed that both had been caught off guard by the encounter, and words were clearly not going to come easily to either of them.

Trip's lips moved slightly, as though he were trying to speak, but no words came out. Malcolm looked down, tearing his gaze away from the eyes before him, then coughed, releasing Tucker from his grasp and taking an awkward step backwards.

He coughed again.

"Commander … I …er … " he stalled, not able to meet the other's eyes, " … I … erm … think we should get back to this … should try to get this panel fixed."

Tucker nodded, slowly and silently, but making no move.

Flushing red, Reed turned and hurried back into the shuttlecraft. He sat at the controls, busying himself uselessly until he heard Tucker step quietly in behind him.

"Maybe there's some problem with the power routing that we've missed," he said, loudly, without looking behind him. "We should check the circuits to find out if there's a leak somewhere."

Trip's voice cracked for a moment, then became more confident as he matched the Lieutenant's pretence that nothing was amiss.

"Yeah … I ah … Yeah, you're right. I'll start with the coupling into the controls circuits. You monitor the power levels."

From behind him, Malcolm could hear the engineer noisily removing panel covers. For several minutes, they worked as though nothing had happened between them, their voices were strangely loud, as though in compensation for the fact that neither wanted to speak at all.

"What's the readin' now?"

"Seven point three … point eight … eight point four..."

"Any change? … How 'bout now?"

"Nothing happening here. I can't work out why the power's not up."

Forcing his thoughts onto the work gave Malcolm a sudden idea. He stood up and stepped towards the panel they had originally been using - still open from before they … from when they had left it earlier.

"Why don't we try switching to the secondary bus …" he began, reaching for the panel.

At the same time, Tucker had had the same thought, and had turned towards the panel. "How 'bout trying the secondary …"

They spoke the words together, and found themselves facing each other in the confined space of the shuttlecraft.

"About what …," Malcolm began.

"Look … " said Trip.

Both stopped, then started again, speaking together once more. Finally Reed took the lead.

"About earlier, Commander," he said, nervously, "I don't know what happened."

"Yeah," nodded Trip. "I agree … let's jus' forget whatever happened."

Malcolm started in surprise. It wasn't exactly what he had meant to say, but heard himself agree eagerly.

"Absolutely. It would be silly to spoil a friendship. Not that I don't also respect the fact that you're a Commander, of course … I didn't mean … " He was babbling, and he knew it. "I just meant … Let's forget it."

Tucker gave him a clearly forced smile. "Yeah … forget it. Look, I think I'd better be leavin'. Had a long shift, and I don' think we're gettin' anywhere with this power problem." He half turned then glanced back. "G'night, Malcolm," he said, before spinning quickly and exiting the shuttlecraft, leaving Reed standing alone and confused.

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Alone in his quarters, Tucker lay on his bed, staring at the bulkhead above him.

What the hell had happened that evening? One minute he'd been talking with Malcolm perfectly normally about women and dating, and the next they'd been kissing! What on Earth could have possessed him to offer to teach him to dance? They'd been so close … holding each other … and it had felt so … He couldn't describe it.

Had Malcolm kissed him, or had he kissed Malcolm?

Goddamn it!

In his mind, he had replayed that moment over and over since it had happened. The warm breath on his lips. The skip of a heartbeat. It had been a moment of perfection and terror mingled so closely that they couldn't be separated. But all he could think of now was getting that moment back again … reliving it in real life, and not just in his mind.

No!

This was Malcolm Reed. His best friend!

No! No! No!

He had to talk to him.

Swinging his legs off the bed and standing, he rushed for the door at the very moment the chime sounded. His stomach knotted tightly as he tapped the control to open the door.

His eyes confirmed what his heart already knew. Malcolm stood in the doorway, his face serious and his eyes mirroring Trip's own confusion and uncertainty.

"Trip. We have to talk."

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_Author's Note: Last updated 2003-02-23_


	3. We Have to Talk

**The Lesson - Chapter 3 - We Have To Talk**

Malcolm's hands were shaking as he accepted Tucker's silent nod of invitation and stepped into his quarters. The door closed behind him, and he stood awkwardly, not sure, now he was here, what he was going to say.

"Commander," he began. "Trip. Until earlier … I had never thought, for a second, about …"

"Us?" finished Trip.

Malcolm nodded slowly, watching Tucker's face for any sign of how he felt. "I don't know what I planned to say when I came over here," he continued, "but all I can think of now is … can we dance?"

"Kinda' cramped for that isn' it?" Trip asked, with a nervous smile, blinking and looking away.

Slowly, Malcolm crossed the short distance between them, and reached up with a shaking hand, to touch the shoulder of the man before him. They stood for a moment, gazing at each other, then gently leaned in to kiss.

The perfect moment returned to both men, as they had longed for it since their first kiss, but this time, they did not break away. Malcolm's arm slipped tenderly round Tucker's waist, pulling him closer, and he felt arms wrapping around his own shoulders - tentatively at first, then surely.

The pressure on their lips grew, and Malcolm found himself gently pushing apart Tucker's lips to slide his tongue inside, relishing the warm sweetness of his mouth and the soft sigh the movement elicited as the other man responded. Their tongues entwined, they explored each other's mouths with a tenderness that gradually grew to hunger. Trip, who until now had been content to follow, took the lead and reached for the back of Reed's head, pulling him towards him and pressing his body tightly against him.

Malcolm had always prided himself on being a good kisser, and always found it arousing and erotic, but this was something different. Every flick of Trip's tongue was driving him crazy with want, in a way he had never experienced before. He had never kissed a man before, nor even thought about it. Was this what had been missing from his life for so long? Not just the need to be with another, but the need to be with a man?

No. This was more than that! It was not just about being with a man - it was about being with Trip.

A hand reached up to touch his face, and Malcolm sighed at the touch, but when the hand moved gently but purposefully to the top of his uniform, he pulled back a little, to look into the hungry eyes fixed on his.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked softly.

Tucker nodded. "Ah'm as sure as ah've ever been in mah life," he whispered, his accent sounding more pronounced with the passion in his voice. "Stay. Please!"

Rank and discipline had always been of utmost importance to Malcolm Reed. He made sure others showed the respect he deserved, and, even more so, he respected the rank of those above him with an unswerving devotion to duty. Ordinarily, any sign of weakness in his Commanding Officer would have shamed him, yet somehow, hearing the note of pleading in Tucker's voice gave him a strange buzz in his stomach. He felt in control, and it felt right that it should be so. Both were new to this experience - surprised and nervous at how quickly things were happening - but somehow Malcolm felt a responsibility towards the other. He felt a need to protect him and care for him. Hearing the soft plea in his tone, he could do nothing but nod in consent.

A few hours before, the thought of this happening to him would have been ridiculous, but right now, the only thing that mattered to him in the world was spending the night in the arms of Commander Charles Tucker.

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_Author's Note: Last updated: 2003-02-26_


End file.
